My Devotion
by racheljeanne
Summary: Marley Rose never thought that she'd agree to go out on a date with someone like Ryder, but when he gets drafted to go overseas to fight in WW2, Marley finds herself starting to fall for the bad boy. Can their love survive the war, and will Ryder be able to come home before Marley moves on? *REVIEWS ENCOURAGED*
1. Chapter 1

Lights and sound filled the air around Marley Rose, bringing out the timidness inside of her as she walked through the crowd with her head low and her arms folded across her chest. She didn't even know why she was here; being as her friends left her alone and she couldn't find them for the life of her. That left her to wander the fairgrounds in search of something to do that didn't involve her talking to people. It was the time of year for the Lima county fair, just mere weeks before school was going to let out for the summer, and the entire community came to show their love for anything American and patriotic. It's not like there was anything to do, seeing as most of the metal for the carnival rides was sent overseas to help with the war, and the food rations that were put into place made the concession stands very bland. It took a moment for her to find an empty park bench that sat in a clearing between booths, seemingly far enough away from the huge crowd that she might be able to breathe a little bit easier.

As she walked toward it, Marley could feel the eyes of people staring into her back. "That's the girl without the father," She heard a little girl say in a hushed whisper, to which her mother harshly shushed her. That was what she was known for in this town, the girl without the father figure and with a XXL mother. She was considered very strange among others her age, not that she minded at all, because one day she was sure that she would be away from here. A few weeks were the only thing that was separating her from New York City, since she planned to immediately move after graduation instead of going on the hunt for a husband like most girls her age. Honestly, even though this face may give her mother a heart attack, Marley was less than interested in finding a husband at the moment, and probably wouldn't be interested in a long time. Her only interest was in music, the emotions and freedom that came with singing was addicting and she had no plans on giving up her dreams to be some man's housewife.

She let out a sigh as she sat down, being sure straighten her plaid skirt before anyone could see her upper legs. She watched the different people walk by, waving their miniature American flags and dropping coins into the Salvation Army tin. "Day dreaming again, Miss Rose?" She heard behind her, recognizing the voice immediately as she turned around. It was Ryder Lynn, Lima High's own bad boy. There were rumors of him that went around every so often, mostly about him having his way with a girl or getting caught smoking behind the school library. It seemed like he was going steady with a new girl each month, and that he was more likely to be seen at lover's lane than within 100 feet of school. Every girl was attracted to him, except for Marley. That fact made him have a special interest in her, where he was either teasing her and calling her a bookworm or trying to get her to go on a date with him. Either way, Marley learned to ignore him.

She turned to face the crowd of people again, hoping to see her friends as a way to leave the situation. Ryder wouldn't have her ignore him, making it obvious by slyly jumping over the back of the bench and sitting by her, a charming grin covering his face. "Not daydreaming, just thinking." She answered back coldly, crossing her arms across her chest. It was boys like Ryder that made her glad that she was going to be in New York in a few short months, making her dream come true while they were stuck here to live the small town life until they died.

Ryder chuckled as he turned his body toward her with his arm lightly draping over the side of the chair, nearly wrapping around her shoulders. She shrugged her shoulders and scooted herself away from him, causing Ryder to make a playful hissing sound as if she just punched him in the chest, "Ice Queen." He commented with a laugh, "What's gotten your panties in a twist, doll face?" He said, making Marley roll her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I don't like being bothered by fat-heads like you." She snapped back at him, cocking an eyebrow and pursing her lips. That statement seemed to have offended him a little bit, but the infamous Ryder Lynn never backed down from a challenge, even if the challenge was getting a bluenose like Marley to go steady with him.

He scooted himself closer to her, straightening out his brown leather jacket and licking his lips before responding. "I wasn't planning on bother anyone, ma'am, especially a keen gal' like you." She said with a crooked smile and a hand running through his perfectly golden brown hair. Marley shook that thought away from her, convincing herself that his hair was just an ordinary brown. "I was just coming over to tell you the good news." He said with a shrug, knowing that it would peak Marley's interest.

She finally turned her head toward him, but slowly scooted farther away from him, but not as much a distance as the first time. "Is the good news that you're going to leave me alone until graduation is over with?" She said, trying to make her voice as cold as possible, but it was obvious that she was only using the mean words to cover up her real curiosity.

He shook his head and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, which by the small size and color of it Marley could only assume that it was a draft card. Her mouth fell open slightly at the sight of it, and at the thought of someone like Ryder at war. He'd always been a little dull witted when it came to things, but he was also hard boiled enough that he'd easily put himself in harms way just for the thrill. It wasn't like every other boy in their graduation class wasn't planning on leaving for the army too, it just took Marley aback a little more than the rest. "You're going overseas?" She asked, no sign of ice in her voice at all.

He smiled, not a crooked smile or a soft smirk that he used as a line to pick up dames, but a real smile, a smile that came from doing something good. "As soon as graduation is out of the way, I only get a few weeks of summer before I get shipped off." He said as he played with the paper in his hands, then proceeded to stuff it back into the pocket of his jacket.

She leaned forward toward him, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. "That's...pretty swell. Congratulations." She said, forcing her voice to fall flat and monotone. She returned her eyes to the group of kids playing tag a few yards in front of them, still twirling around their American flags around with glee.

He scooted himself closer to Marley once again, the girl now too tired of this game to scoot any farther away from him. "That's not even the good news." He said, raising his eyebrows as Marley slowly turned her attention back to him. He could tell she had a curious nature, whether it be by her interest in his vague statement, or her constant time spent in the library. "The good news is that I know exactly who I'm going to take dancing as a celebration of my drafting." He said, being sure that he didn't give her any clue as to who it was that he was speaking of. Marley turned her head and cocked her eyebrow, waiting for him to get to the punchline.

"I know this pretty ritzy joint a few towns over, and it'd be really swell if you could go with me, Marley." He said, giving her a shrug of his shoulders and a little had to admit that he was pretty spiffy guy, but Marley wasn't one to go out dancing on the weekend with guys like Ryder. The little voice in her head reminded her that this would be in celebration of his drafting, and that it might be the last time he ever went out dancing.

She bit the inside of her mouth as she thought for a moment, a little glimmer of light in his eyes as she didn't reject him automatically like she usually does. "Sounds..pretty neat. I'd be glad too." She said, chuckling a little bit at his wide eyes and dropped jaw.

"You're not pulling my leg, are you?" He said, suddenly a little bit cautious. It was to be expected, since her usual response was a form of "Thank you, but no thank you." She had to give him credit for his persistence, and she had to remind herself that she only had to do it once before she could go back to rejecting him. She shook her head, which made his smile grow a little bit wider. "I swear that it won't fall flat, Miss Rose. This Friday, I'll pick you up at...6pm?" He said, standing up and giving her a gentlemanly bow and nod. Marley forced a smile on her face as she agreed, and let out a sigh of relief as he turned to walk away, probably to brag to his friends about landing a date with the uptight Marley Rose. "What did I just get myself into?" Marley asked herself, letting her head roll back to look at the stars.


	2. Chapter 2

The next school day after the county fair was always considered the longest of the entire year. Most of the student would stay out past curfew and celebrate together with a few rebellious hours of dancing and drinking, except a select few who usually went immediately home afterward. One of them was Marley, who, after accepting a date offer from the one and only Ryder Lynn, nearly made a beeline for her mother and returned home for a long night's rest. While she was wide awake and ready, most everyone could have passed as the walking dead.

Marley stood silently at her locker, gazing her eyes over the assortment of advanced placement books that lined the back of it. She slicked her hair back into her usual high ponytail, letting the tips of her hair rest on her shoulders. There was only a few more minutes until home room started, and while she would normally be already sitting in her desk reading one of her many library books, she stood with her nose buried into her locker. Marley could hear even more whispers behind her than usual, unaware of the real reason for the gossip about her. She felt nervous that the students were starting to spread more rumors about her family life, but avoided any eavesdropping on their conversations. It wasn't until she heard a soft pop behind her, making her jump a little bit to see a little blonde standing beside her.

Kitty Ann never wasted a breath on someone like Marley; she was always too busy giggling with her cheerleading friends or sipping milkshakes with one of the athletic boys. For some odd reason she was standing in front of her now, popping her bright pink bubble gum and twirling a strand of her golden hair between her fingertips. The two of them were polar opposites in almost every way imaginable. Kitty Ann was always fond of adding to her extensive sweater and skirt collection, while Marley preferred to stay at home and listen to the radio. The only similarity between them was that they were both very bright students, especially in the advanced chemistry class that they shared together. The only interaction that they had up to that point was Kitty Ann forcing everybody to swear that they wouldn't tell a soul about the blonde being placed in that class.

She leaned one shoulder against the locker next to Marley's, blowing another bubble with her bazooka gum before speaking. "You are Marley Rose, correct?" She asked, cocking her head slightly. All Marley could do in that moment was nod shyly, still in awe that someone like Kitty Ann wanted to speak to someone like her. "Swell, then that means you're the one who's going dancing with Ryder on Friday?" She said smirking at her slightly, "Everybody had heard about you two." She explained, scrunching her nose slightly.

The whispers were about her and Ryder, not her family after all. That thought made a weight come off of Marley's shoulders, until a little bit of confusion washed over her. "How could people have heard about that, already?" The brunette said, hunching her shoulders over and looking around to the many stares that were coming toward her from almost every direction. She could tell that many groups were starting to gather around the two girls in order to secretly listen in on their conversation, trying to discover the true facts from Marley herself.

Pressing her back against the row of lockers, Kitty Ann just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Word like that spreads like wildfire around here." She said loudly, cueing all of the listeners around them to disperse to their home rooms. As they all did so, she returned her gaze back to Marley, "Besides, it's not every day that _the_ Ryder Lynn asks someone like you out to dancing. It's the biggest news that has spread around here since he asked me to be steady with him, but that was weeks ago." She chuckled, trying to mask her sly jabs with her bubbly smile.

Marley was a smart girl, and she quickly picked up on what she was hinting at. "Someone like me?" She asked, picking up one of her books from her locker, just in case she had to make a quick get away from the girl. "I'm not sure what you mean by that." Of course, Marley completely understood what she was aiming toward; it would just satisfy her to hear it out of the girl's own mouth.

A defensive glimmer sparkled in the girl's eyes for a moment, but a smile stayed plastered on her face. It didn't take long for the air around them to get a little colder and tenser. "By someone like you, I mean," She silently chuckled, flicking her ponytail off of her shoulder, "Someone who isn't his type." She said matter of factly. She leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You see, he's a doll dizzy. Once he's done with you, or once you show him how much of a fuddy-duddy you really are, he'll drop you faster than yesterday's newspaper. Then he'll find a new play mate." She shook her head, almost as if she pitied Marley.

It took a moment for Marley to respond to that, slightly shocked at how blunt Kitty Ann really was. "I-I don't care. We're just going dancing, as friends." She said, smiling slightly and dropping her gaze to the floor.

She took a step forward, giving Marley a look that she couldn't quite understand. She placed her hand lightly on the girl's locker door, "That's not what he told me," She muttered, "He said that was planning on charming you into doing the dirty, then 'losing' your number." It took Marley aback for a moment, she'd known that Ryder could be a little bit of a fat head sometimes, but she didn't think that he'd be that mean to her. When Marley started to shake her head in disbelief, Kitty Ann let out a loud laugh. "You actually thought that he'd ask you out without expecting anything else in return? That's not the bet that he made." She said before covering her mouth with her palm, a look of fake surprise on her face. "I've said too much already, see you around." She gave Marley one last wave before skipping off.

If the girl was sure of one thing now, it was that Ryder Lynn was just a hard boiled skirt chaser. Marley hugged her book tight to her chest as she walked down the halls, deep in thought about what she just heard. She was having a full on war inside her head, debating on whether or not she should even go through with this 'date'. She shook her head, walking into her home room just as the bell rang. This day was sure going to be a long one, Marley thought as she slid into her desk.


	3. Chapter 3

As the last bell rang for the day, Marley knew that she had finally made her choice. It wasn't normal for her to be anything but loyal to her promises; therefore it would probably make her feel worse rather than better if she decided to stand him up. She only promised herself to never think of Ryder as anything more than an acquaintance, which she doubted would be a problem. Marley silently shuffled through the crowded halls in an effort to get to her locker, trying to avoid any elbows or book bags hitting her in the face. The girl had always been a wall flower, getting accidently shoved and pushed during passing time simply because nobody really noticed her.

This time was different; many girls were purposely knocking into her and hitting her with their shoulders, also giving her glares as they walked away quietly. Most of them were girls that Marley recognized as ex-girlfriends of Ryder, a couple stood out as part of the 'Obsessed with Ryder Lynn' fan club. Of course, they were really just a bunch of girls that followed Ryder around like lost puppies, but Marley always saw them as some sort of fan club that treated the boy like he was a God of sorts. She rolled her eyes as she unlocked her locker and grabbed her book bag, closing it in a record amount of time. All she could think about was leaving, and coming back tomorrow with all of this hopefully out of people's minds.

Skipping down the steps of McKinley High, she noticed a few boys that were usually huddled in a group turn to look at her, a few of them smirking and giving one of them a high five. As a boy, who she believed was named Jake, shifted his weight and moved his shoulders slightly, it revealed Ryder standing there giving her a crooked smirk and a quick wink. Her breathe seemed to get stuck in her throat for a second before she started walking again, heading in the opposite direction of the large group of students that were grouped on the front courtyard of the school. She heard the distant sound of oh's from the boys, but Marley quickly blocked them out of her head as she continued down the path toward her house.

After a few minutes of walking, Marley turned her head to pear over her shoulder shyly. She let out a sigh as she saw that nobody was behind her. She let out a sigh, letting her head roll back so the bright sun could warm her face and hopefully give her a moment of silence to think. The only sounds she heard were the light rustling of leaves against the wind and a few critters making soft noises in the tall grass that surrounded the dirt path. They were barely audible, but still more welcome than the frustrating sound of the whispers that Marley's head was filled with for the past few hours.

"Marley! Marley Rose!" She heard behind her, making her spin around without thinking. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a familiar light brown leather jacket and slick brown hair. Ryder was lightly jogging in an effort to catch up with her, probably wanting to talk about the whispers and glares that he indirectly caused others to give her. If she walked quickly enough, she might've been able to lose him and get home before he found her again, but her conscious decided against it.

She hugged her books tightly against her chest as she waited up for him, trying to think of something clever to say to him. Instead, she looked at the toes of her shoes as they kicked around a few pieces of gravel. He was somewhat out of breathe when the two were finally next to each other, he was still able to breathe out a greeting. "What do you want?" She said, meaning for it to sound cold, but it came out more defensive than anything else. Her eyes didn't leave the ground as she turned to start walking home again, walking a little slower than her usual pace.

He followed her automatically, matching her pace as he strided beside her with his hands shoved in the pockets of his slacks. "You make it sound like I'm going to rob you," He chuckled, trying to lighten the unspoken tension between them. When Marley didn't return the chuckle, keeping her mouth in a firm line, he let out a sigh. "What's buzzin', cousin?" He asked, in a more serious tone that what she was used too.

Marley pushed her mouth to the side, furrowing her bows in thought as she pondered whether or not to tell him about all of the gossip that spread around the school about them. When she didn't respond with a sly remark or vague statement right away, he assumed what was on her mind. "I've heard all the stuff people are saying." He said with a nod, "And I've seen how some of the girls looked at you today." His voice had a smile in it, making Marley more than a little angry.

"You didn't think about saying something to them?" She snapped at him, looking up from her feet to meet his eyes. Her gaze got stuck there for a moment, like a vehicle in mud. She never really noticed how deep his brown eyes were, but she quickly tore here attention away from them before he could accuse her of staring.

He was slightly taken aback at her anger with him, but licked his lips once before replying. "I thought about it, I just figured that it wouldn't help with the rumors." He muttered with a shrug of his big shoulders. Marley let some of her frustration out with a heavy sigh, knowing that he did have a point. "I didn't ask you out to make people think that we were going steady, I did it because…" He trailed off, leaving his sentence hanging. "You're just a pretty keen gal, Marley." He said, caving his shoulders in shyly. It was one of the very few times that she'd seen him give a shy gesture, usually he was the exact opposite when he was trying to get with a girl.

Marley bit the inside of her cheek, not sure why her heart started beating funny at his comment. "No, this isn't supposed to happen." She told herself, letting out a sigh. Marley stopped walking, the two of them were getting close to her house now and she didn't want him to see her little home. She turned to Ryder, giving him a forced smile. "It's okay. Sorry, I just sort of…went off." She apologized, purposely avoiding his eyes. She couldn't help but hear Kitty's voice inside the walls of her head, reminding Marley that this entire thing was a bet to Ryder's friends. "You don't have to lie to me either; I know that this entire thing was just some bet." She muttered, trying to make it quiet enough that Ryder wouldn't hear her.

Ryder did hear her though, and he turned to her with a confused look on his face that she usually only saw in English class. "Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about now." He said, shaking his head slowly as his mind tried to wrap itself around what Marley just told him. At first, Marley didn't believe that he was clueless about what Kitty told her. As she saw the confused look stay frozen on his features, she doubted herself a little bit. "Who told you that?" He questioned her, taking a step closer.

Instinctively, Marley took a step back. "Just…rumors." She said, looking at the ground again, trying to think of a sudden reason for running home as soon as possible.

"Marley Rose." He said, his voice a playful serious that she couldn't help but smile at, "Who said that lie to you?" A smile grew on his face at the sight of her grin, and he jokingly cocked an eyebrow. Marley took her book and let it rest on her hip, shaking her head as she let out a chuckle again. She told Ryder about what Kitty said at her locker, and how she stupidly believed her. His shocked expression was immediately replaced with a slightly amused one, "You honestly believed someone like her? She's crazier than…well, she's just really crazy." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Marley looked down at the ground to hide her smile, shrugging her shoulders. "Y'know, I took you for a little bit smarter than that." He joked, "C'mon, I'll walk you home." He held out his elbow for her to take. Which Marley did, and the two started to walk together. Though she was smiling on the outside, she could feel the anxiety start to build inside of her as she thought about what Ryder would say when he saw her tiny house, while most of the kids in the school lived in normal houses with two stories, a front yard, and a kitchen that could fit more than one person. She forced those thoughts out of her head, since when did she care about what Ryder thought of her anyways?

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Author's Note

StarkidGleek12 - Your review made me smile more than anything else! Thank you so much for your kind words about the story, the characters, and my writing! (:

Alex B. Goode - Thank you so much! I'll try to keep this story updated more often then I have been!

Chucknutz - Thank you, I've been sort of obsessed with The Notebook and Dear John lately, and I kind of came up with a way to join the two together, while adding my OTP! (:

I seriously love you all so much, and I'll try to keep this updated every few days! You're all perfect human beings and it means so much for you to be reading all of this stuff and reviewing it! If you want a shout out, please take a few seconds and leave a review or a comment on this story!


	4. Chapter 4

Ryder stared at the ceiling, listening to the radio buzz in the background as he tossed a baseball in the air with a flick of his wrists. Closing his eyes, he still caught the ball just before it would have hit him square in the nose. He'd been doing this so often the past few nights that he could probably juggle while falling asleep, but his goal wasn't anything related to the ratty old plaything anyways, it was just a calming technique that Ryder found to be the most helpful before his father returned home from work. He knew that he was in for a wicked scorning again tonight, since the grades on the report card still weren't as high as his parent's standards. His mother was more understanding, considering that she admitted to him that her words got scrambled too sometimes, but she said that he just had to work through it. He scoffed a little bit at the thought, knowing that she barely had to read anything besides the cookbook and the mail. He knew that as a young man, he'd have to go to college and end up like some big professor like Mr. Lynn, but how could he teach students when he had to double check that he put the letters of his own name in order?

He tossed the baseball into a pile of blankets in the corner of his room, rolling over onto his side as he turned the radio off with a loud click. It was nights like these that Ryder wished that graduation was already passed and he was on his way to the shores of France, where it didn't matter if you could read a passage from some dead author that lived 50 years ago. The only things you had to do to be a soldier was to be loyal to your country and to use a gun. That was what he was prepared to do as long as he could escape this life of constantly being criticized for every move you made.

Digging into the pocket of his slacks, he pulled out the light yellow draft card and gazed at it. Some of the words and letters confused him, like his squad name and location code, but the only thing he really cared about was the two words typed up all fancy at the top: Ryder Lynn. It was proof that he'd really gone through with all of the paperwork and physicals to be approved. Like the recruiter told him, it was natural to be scared, but it took mighty courage for him to even sign his name on the dotted line. He did though, and even his parents had a small glimmer of approval at their going-to-be-warhero son.

The familiar creaking sound of their front door and the sound of his father calling his mother's name immediately cued Ryder to sit up and begin to walk out of his room and down the stairs. He took a deep breath before finally reaching the bottom, a fake smile plastered all over his face. "Hey pops," He greeted his father as he hung his hat on the rack, handing his briefcase to his wife while also giving her a light peck on the cheek. He could tell that it was a rough day at work by the stern look in his eyes, and how he blatantly ignored his own son as he walked to the dining room, asking what was cooking for dinner. Ryder took the jab to his pride in stride, following behind his father and sitting down at the table in his usual place across from his mother, while his dad took the place at the head of the table.

Like usual, dinner was already set out and ready to eat. They all sat down, saying a quick pre-dinner prayer of thanks before beginning. While the two adults made small talk, Ryder slowly picked at the piece of meat on his plate, smirking a little bit at how his mother seemed to be nearly force feeding him as much protein as she could right after he told them the news about his drafting. Once there was a small moment of silence, Ryder took the opportunity to interject with the highlight of this day. "You folks remember that gal' I told you about, right?" He said, a grin spreading on his face, "I was walkin' her home, and I was thinkin', wouldn't it be cool if we invited her over for dinner sometime?"

He watched his two parents as their expressions changed; his mother pursed her lipstick clad lips together but said nothing about the girl whose parents were the joke of the town, while his father only raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Yes, dear. We remember you telling us about her this morning… and last night." She spoke up, shaking her head barely. He'd overheard his mother saying some less than delightful comments about the girl's mother, joking about how she belonged in the travelling circus with the elephants, but Ryder was positive that as soon as she saw Marley, she'd change her mind about them. He remembered their walk home together and how nice her mother was to him as he walked her to her front door; while his own mother only liked the girls he brought home who were the all American girls in her eyes.

The same crooked smirk that was passed down to his son appeared on Mr. Lynn's mouth, and he kept his eyebrows up as he took a sip of lemonade. "You said she was a smart one, right son?" He said, setting the glass down with a hard thunk. "Don't you think that she'd much rather be with someone her own…level? There's that Kitty Ann girl though, she seems like quite the catch." He said, not noticing Ryder's sigh at the sly insult of his inferior intelligence and the mention of that crazy dame. Looking over, he saw her mother giving her husband a nod of approval.

Mrs. Lynn then started to ramble on about how Mr. Wilde, Kitty's stepfather, was supposed to solve all the problems of this god forsaken town, and how he had earned every important vote in Lima for his campaign as mayor. Ryder only looked down at his veggies, taking a few bites of them before wiping his face with his napkin. "May I be excused?" He said, trying to hide his emotions as best he could as he waiting for their response. He saw his mother sneak a small peak at her husband, wondering if he'd brink up his less than satisfactory grades.

Ryder's father only shrugged a little bit, cocking his head slightly. He then took out an envelope from his coat pocket, tossing onto the dinner table next to Ryder's plate. "Sure, just know that I've already seen this, and that I'm not going to waste a breath on it anymore." He said before clacking his fork against his plate to pick up a piece of steak. Ryder only stared at the paper for a moment, before taking it in his fist and jogging back up the stairs to his room. He wasn't relieved that he didn't receive a scolding, he was the opposite actually. It took a lot for his father to give up on something, he even spent two days looking for a file that he accidently misplaced that only contained newspaper clippings about the war. As soon as Ryder was in his room, he threw the paper down onto his desk, kicking the thing closest to him. He looked down to see his book bag lying across the room from where its original place.

Anger and disappointment filled his mind as he reached over, grabbing the first book his hands could reach. American History, one of the many classes that he was failing, was what read in bright yellow letters on the front of the book. He threw the bind down onto the desk, flipping open to a random page and setting himself down in his chair. He couldn't remember any of that class, but he forced his eyes to make since of the jumble that sat in front of him. He knew deep down that he liked Marley, but if he ever wanted to change his father's mind about his son, he would have to spend his time studying instead of dancing with a beautiful gal like her. He had to forget her, and focus on the war of 1812.

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Authors Note!

Portalinastorn - Thank you! I have a few ideas of where this could head, and I'm really excited to write and post them!

Guest (I assume both guest reviews are from the same person) - Thank you so much! I really do try to keep the era authentic without shoving it down the reader's throat. I will say that Kitty Ann will return with a vengeance soon! (:

Chucknutz - I'm glad that you're liking my fic! I really hope that the rest of it pleases you as well! (: Ryder Lynn in general is just too cute for words, and Ryley is my OTP so I couldn't help but write a fic about them using my favorite era! (:

You're all such sweethearts and I love all of you perfect beings with all my heart. (: 3


	5. Chapter 5

The days leading up to Friday went by rather quickly for both Marley and Ryder. The two of them had an unspoken agreement to keep their distance, letting the wild rumors about them die down while they secretly stole glances at the other during class. They weren't glances of lust or longing, but of wonder and curiosity. Each day Ryder walked Marley home, sometimes she would even let him carry her books and drape his jacket over his shoulder, but that was only when Ryder gave her puppy eyes until she gave in. Marley started to get less and less weary about her home situation when Ryder showed no judgment about it, it even seemed like he didn't want to leave as quickly as he always did. They weren't supposed to work, but in an odd sense they did. They had a sense of understanding about each other, one that Marley was afraid to admit to herself and that Ryder was afraid to admit to others.

One other person started to notice their connection too, while the rest of the student body was too blinded by the obnoxious rumors to see the fact that they were purposely staying away from each other during the school day. It only took half of a brain and common sense to notice Ryder leave his group of Neanderthals earlier than usual and follow the path toward the dirt poor district of town, which only the one Marley Rose took after school. Then again, most of the girls were beginning to get too distracted by the new boy toy of the month, Jake Puckerman, to even notice anything besides the drool rolling down their chins. Kitty Ann flipped through the pages of a book she meant to read months ago, not even looking at the words as she peeked up through her eyelashes at the mass of students in front of her. They were all so infuriating to the little blonde; each one of them completely content with the routine of living in a small town. She popped her gum in bitterness, turning her head. The first person in her line of sight was none other than Jake, just the person she was looking for.

Though nobody else knew, Jake was also slightly intrigued by Marley, though not to the extent Ryder was. Kitty Ann had a way of talking and smiling that made the idiots of McKinley want to tell her every single one of their dark secrets, which was especially helpful in finding out the shocking amount of boys that were secretly interested in the mousey brunette with a chest so small that somebody could easily mistake her for a 10 year old boy with stringy long hair and hand me down skirts. Once he looked her way, she raised an eyebrow and pointed toward him before quickly pointing it toward the ground, signaling him that no matter what he was doing, that she wanted him in front of her now. Probably seeing the fire in her eyes much more ablaze than usual, he quickly closed his conversation before dodging the students to get in front of her. She smiled coyly, watching a few of the girls purposely bump into the boy in order for him to give them half of a glance. Little did they all know that much to Puckerman's dismay, she had him wrapped tighter than a Christmas present around her finger. "Puckerman," She said as a form of a greeting, trying her best to sound pleasant through the horrible mood she was in. It was all because of that one girl too, Marley Rose. Just as the blonde started to get interested in Ryder again, she had to go and snatch her up for herself.

He gave her a small nod, fixing his jacket slightly as he returned her greeting with a few mumbled words. Rolling her eyes, the only thing she wanted to do right now was to get this deal over with and done. It wasn't her pleasure to converse with egg heads like Jake, but in order to get what she wanted Kitty Ann knew that she had to do it. "You want Marley." She said quickly, hooking her thumbs around the handles of her backpack, smirking as he looked around in embarrassment. "No need to be shy about it, maybe that's the reason some of the other fellas have started to take an interest in her." She said, slowly turning her head as she spoke, trying to peak his interest by being as nonchalant as possible.

Popping her gum again, she watched him out of the corner of her eye as he furrowed his brows, thinking about the truth that rang in her words. He fixed the strap of his leather bag before shoving his hands into his pants pockets, "I'm listening." He said slowly, as if he was debating in his head whether he really wanted to or not. Either way, she had his attention. It was boys that Jake that Kitty could manipulate easily into indirectly doing the dirty work for her, whether that meant throwing somebody in the dumpster for her or simply giving a rude girl the stink eye for weeks at a time. It was a power that Kitty loved, and one that she'd never give anything up for.

It took some convincing and a little bit of making out for Jake to 'realize' his true feelings for Marley, and for him to get the courage to make a plan of attack to get her to realize her obvious feelings for him. Of course, none of that was true, but Jake believed it and that's all that mattered. "Alrighty, Jake, it's time for you to go get your woman. Ryder? He stands no chance against you." She said with a fake smile as the Puckerman rushed out the door with a look of amusing determination on his face. It was kind of cute, in face, the way she could blindly lead him in any direction she wanted. Pulling her strands back into their usual high pony, she sat up on her bed and looked out the window as the boy started to rush down the block toward Marley's part of town. She had no clue what to expect out of him, but she did know one thing: She would be the one to get a happy ending.

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Chucknutz - Thank you for messaging me and getting my buy into gear for writing this chapter! (: I highly appreciate your dedication and devotion (see what I did there?) to this fic and all the great reviews you give it! (:

iheartart13 - Thanks so much! It really does mean a lot for you guys to spend your time reading this fic and writing such great compliments about it! You're wonderful! (:

Lovingismygame - You're welcome! Thanks for the review!

Guest - I get really excited when I see a new review! (: I'm adding the rest of the newbies (Jake and Kitty) into the story, but I promise that I have literally THE perfect ending to this story and it's going to be so cute and fluffy! I can't wait until I get to write it! (: I'm also not an expert on dyslexia, so it's a huge honor that you told me that I wrote it well, your reviews mean so much and I can't wait to read another.

**_Huge Authors Note Below!_**

Okay guys, again, I'm sorry for not updating as much as I was hoping too. Feel free to message me on here, or at my personal tumblr ( ) if you'd like for me to tell you the status on the next chapter or if you even have some ideas for this story/other stories you'd like me to write! You can also message me a request for a oneshot and I'll write it for you! I'm also open for 1x1s because I love them, and I actually met my current 1x1 partner on here because she read my stories and saw my 1x1 ads! So long story short! Message me on my personal tumblr if you'd like 1)A status update on a story 2)A oneshot of any ship 3) to do a 1x1 with me! Sorry if it sounds like I'm recruiting, but I'd just love to interact with you guys more! (:

xoxo


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